"He was a Renaissance man," former business partner Bob Burnham said. They met in 1960, and own Seidman Burnham Financial Services in Grand Rapids. "He was so able in so many different fields. I've never seen anyone with such broad abilities."

TIMELINE

Some of the high points in the life of L. William "Bill" Seidman as he moved from Grand Rapids to the national scene:

1960: Helped establish Grand Valley as the state's newest college.

1962: Founded WZZM TV 13.

1960-74, 77-83: Served on Grand Valley State University's Board of Control; named first honorary life member.

1963-66: Served as special assistant on financial affairs under Michigan Gov. George Romney.

1967-74: Managing partner of Seidman and Seidman Accounting Firm.

1974-77: Advisor on economic affairs to President Gerald R. Ford.

1977-80: Member of the Board of Foreign Scholars (Fulbright Scholarships) at the U.S. Department of State.

1976-82: Vice chair of Phelps Dodge Corporation.

1983-84: Co-chair of White House Conference on Productivity.

1982-85: Dean of Arizona State University College of Business.

1985: The L. William Seidman Chair of Accountancy was established as an endowed chair at GVSU's Accounting Department.

1985-91: Chair of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

1992-present: Chief commentator for CNBC.

John Canepa, former Old Kent Bank CEO and now a consultant with Crowe Horwath, said Mr. Seidman was a man with "the highest level of integrity" who "told it like it is."

"When he was head of FDIC, he addressed the problems," Canepa said. "It was his willingness to meet a challenge head on, and address it without worrying about what the politicians thought."

And when he talked about the latest banking crisis, Canepa continued, "it sounded like he was 20 years younger and wanted to get involved again."

Former GVSU President Emeritus Arend "Don" Lubbers said Mr. Seidman "pulled the nation through that crisis better than ever would have been imagined."

Lubbers remembers the June day in 1968 when Mr. Seidman and a team from then Grand Valley State College came to Iowa to recruit him for the president's job.

That started a long, close relationship, Lubbers said.

"He was such a wise person. He was the kind of chairman that I could go to when there were issues and he always had such insight into the problem and really good advice," Lubbers said. "The only person who ever did that better for me was my father."

Art Johnson, president of United Bank and the next chairman of the American Banking Association, was a young banker in his 30s when he crossed paths with Mr. Seidman.

"I was one of the youngest bankers in the room," Johnson said of his first trip to Washington with the Michigan Banking Association back in the 1980s. When Johnson mentioned his bank based in Wayland, Mr. Seidman, then chair of the FDIC, took notice.

"He said, 'Wayland? I know where that is.' We talked for a few minutes," Johnson said. "We had some small connection because I was from West Michigan. He took a few minutes to make me feel special."

Mr. Seidman was the right person for the job when the nation faced the savings and loan crisis, Johnson said.

"That experience is getting a lot of discussion these days. That's one of the examples we can look back at. He was right in the middle of that, at the epicenter, and had to invent a solution and execute it," Johnson said. "It's all well and good to have a theory, and quite another to put it into practice."

Retired businessman and former U.S. ambassador to Italy Peter Secchia worked with Mr. Seidman on and off for 35 years. He said Mr. Seidman's "ability to sort through the morass of the financial bureaucracy in Washington" is one of his most important legacies.

"He was a truly unique individual and he took great pride in West Michigan," Secchia said. "We will miss him because he was a true entrepreneur who took on a lot of chores that others didn't find comfortable."

Grand Rapids businessman Ralph Hauenstein, who endowed Grand Valley's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, was shocked to hear of his friend's death. He has known Mr. Seidman since the 1930s. They had lunch in Florida this winter, discussing the current economic crisis.